L’ultimo esemplare “di sviluppo” del caccia Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II, destinato al ciclo di voli sperimentali, si stacca per la prima volta dalla pista della Naval Air Station di Fort Worth, base interforze della Riserva USA.
Denominato BF-5, l’aereo STOVL (Short Take-Off/Vertical L) sarà poi trasferito alla base dell’aviazione navale USA di Patuxent River (Maryland), dove si unirà al programma di prove in volo insieme ad altri quattro F-35B ed un F-35C, la versione CV (Carrier Variant) specifica per il lancio con catapulta e l’atterraggio col gancio sulle portaerei dell’U.S. Navy.
(Da un comunicato stampa Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Fort Worth, Texas, USA – 28 gennaio 2011)
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The last Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II assigned to developmental flight testing departs Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base on its first flight Thursday.
Known as BF-5, the short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) fighter will ferry to NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, later this year, where it will join four F-35Bs and one F-35C - carrier variant (CV) for catapult launches and arrested recoveries aboard the U.S. Navy’s large aircraft carriers - currently undergoing testing.
(From a press release by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Fort Worth, Texas, USA – January 28, 2011)
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